The Rayne has Come
by Tzarchameleon
Summary: What happens when Shinji isn't the angsty one, and Gendo gets more evil? Introducing a new chara in the fold, one who threatens to take Eva apart from the inside.
1. Introducing the End

01_IntroEnd I don't own the characters from Evangelion, if I did, I would be a much richer person. I am only using them 'cause they are cool. This is one of my first fan fics I felt like posting, so be kind in your reviews. For those who are wondering when this takes place in the series, it's shortly after the Jet Alone incident, though before any major action, I forget the episode numbers off hand, and I'm too lazy to go look for them. If there are continuity errors, forgive me, and enjoy the fic.   
  


Part One: Introducing the End.   


Misato Katsuragi was late for work, again. 

She entered the hub at the middle of NERV, Central Dogma, expecting to hear a rebuke from Ritsiko. As she passed through the automatic doors, she remembered that today was the day when being late would be the worst. 

Misato sighed and climbed the stairs to the central work area. As she climbed she could hear the broken Japanese of the newest visiting scientist. Misato had always known that working with the EVA project was a blessing and a curse, but days like this the curse seemed worse than any benefit the blessing could be. In the last few months, since the incident with Jet Alone, it seemed that there was a never ending parade of visiting scientists, each with their own idea of how to improve upon the Eva series. 

This one seemed to fit the bill for average pompous scientist. He was an American (why did they keep trying to reclaim their scientific hegemony?), overly tall, overly fat, and balding. He shot Misato a dirty look when she got to the top of the platform. 

Misato stood through the rest of his long winded presentation, it seemed that he was working on improvements to the progressive knife, trying to tolerate his terrible accent and mangling of the language. Finally he finished, and Ritsuko started to talk. Quickly her questions came, most of them so technical, the American didn't understand them, and had to resort to a translator, which slowed them greatly. 

"How do you plan on compensating for the cross-temperance wave forms? Did you take into account the newest data on orange AT fields?" Ritsuko asked. After waiting for the translation, the American responded with some more techno babble. For ten minutes they continued like that, until Commander Ikari spoke. 

"Dr. Waverley, we have much work to attend to. Please, leave us what ever information that you have and we will report our reactions to it later. Good day." With that dismissal, Gendo stood and turned to walk out of the room. Misato was almost glad, until the American spoke again. 

"Commander Ikari, I cannot simply leave this research here, it is highly sensitive materials." 

"Then leave someone here to explain." Ikari walked out of the room. The American looked crestfallen as a security guard stepped forward to escort the scientist out of the highly sensitive area that was Central Dogma. Ritsuko stepped forward to talk to the man for a few moments, probably following up on the "suggestion" that he leave someone behind to go over the rest of the data with them. Ritsuko was the type that would never let any data escape, even if it did come from a stupid American. 

Misato finally stepped forward and looked over the control room. The main display showed Tyoko-3. She sighed and turned to Maya, who still had a look of boredom on her face. She noticed the Major looking at her, and straightened. "Good morning Major." 

Misato smiled and greeted her back. "So, how terrible was this one?" 

"He seems like the type that had his assistants prep him, I don't think he knew what he was talking about half the time." Maya confided. 

Misato knew exactly what she meant. It seemed like that's what passed for science these days. Her father . . . Misato stopped herself. 

"Well, we won't let that spoil our day, now will we?" Maya shook her head in agreement, and readied herself for the days work. "Let's start with some basic system checks." 

"Misato," Ritsuko called, waving for her. 

"Maya, you handle this please," Misato said, as she walked to her blonde friend. Ritsuko truly was a beautiful woman, but she had spent so many years here. . . "Yes?" 

"It seems that the Doctor has an assistant that he wishes to leave with us. Or, rather, that wants to stay." Ritsuko raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "I was thinking you could handle the security arrangements." 

"Isn't that a little basic? I'm sure that NERV security has other people that could. . ." 

"The young woman's name is Karen Ikari-Rayne." 

Misato looked at her friend for a moment. Ritsuko never had much of a sense of humor at any time, let alone when it came to the Eva project. "It has to be a coincidence," she insisted. 

"Perhaps," Ritsuko said, with something almost like a twinkle in her eyes. "But wouldn't you love to be the first to know?" 

* * * 

Misato sat down in front of Karen Ikari-Rayne. They met in a small room, that contained two chairs, a table, and a mirror at first glance, but Misato knew that the room had microphones and cameras all over, capturing everything that would be said in this interview. 

Karen was not a small woman, her profile said that she was 5'8" (silly American measurement system), and was of obvious Asian extraction, though it seemed to be tempered by something else. She had medium length dark hair, and brown eyes behind a set of oval glasses. A white lab coat was folded over the back of the chair she sat in. 

"Good morning," Misato said, introducing herself. "I understand that Dr. Waverley wished to have you remain here with us at the EVA project." 

"No," the girl replied. "I wish to stay. Most of the information that Waverley gave you today is my own research, though he won't admit it. I think that I can be helpful to you here, much more so than I could in the US." 

Misato paused a moment. "Very well…" She shuffled through Ikari-Rayne's file. "Could you start off by telling me a little about yourself?" 

"What do you want to know?" 

"Well, there seem to be some holes in your profile." 

"The Data Privacy Act of 2005 kept most of my files sealed when I transferred to Waverley's project. What is missing?" 

She's an odd one, Misato thought, an American for sure. "Most of your personal background is missing, and the US embassy is reluctant to give out that information. We need to know things such as your family, your age, and any previous employment for now. There will be an in depth background check later." 

Karen took off her glasses and set them on the table in front of her. "My previous employment.. I attended the University of Utah between 2010 and 2013, then transferred directly to Dr. Waverley's project. I have worked for him since that time. I am currently 20, my birthday is in May." Karen smiled and looked at Misato. "May I ask why you need to know about my family?" 

Misato smiled back. "Largely because we have to know what your background is. We need to check for mental instability in your background, political dissidents, things of that nature." 

Karen toyed with her glasses on the table before her. "I see." She put her glasses back on. "Talking about my family is hard for me. My mother died you see." 

"That must have been hard for you." Misato said, looking intently at the girl. She was holding something back, that much was obvious. 

"Hm. I was very close to my mother. Her name was Sarah Rayne, if you need that for your records. She was a scientist, and worked with Waverley for a number of years." 

"Yes, I think I have heard of her. She was working on synch systems, correct?" Misato said, dredging up that memory from many years ago. 

"Yes, I'm surprised that you remembered. It was an accident at work. I was young, but I still dislike talking about it. As for the rest of my family, I have one half brother, by my father. I've never spoken to him, and I'm rather sure he doesn't know I exist. Father was like that." The girl fell silent. 

Misato saw that the girl wasn't going to answer any further. "If this is hard for you, we can leave this for the standard background check." 

"Maybe that would be best." Karen took off her glasses again, and fiddled with them. "Can I go somewhere to rest? It's been a while." 

"Yes of course," Misato said, collecting papers. "I can't give you permant quarters yet, but if you need a place to rest, we can find you a hotel while we wait for the background to check." 

"Excellent." Karen put her glasses back on, and donned her lab coat as she stood. She looked every inch the scientist, and some how almost familiar. Coincidence, Misato told herself. 

The two walked down the hall to the nearest elevator chatting about recent news. Misato found that the girl had excellent command of Japanese, and was well versed in world news. They stood waiting for a lift still making small talk, Misato was telling Karen about some of the better hotels, and extending an invitation to join her and the kids for dinner. 

"Oh, the pilots live with you?" Karen was surprised at this. 

"Well, Shinji and Auska. Rei.. well, Rei has her own quarters, and seems to prefer that." Misato admitted. 

"I would love to. I have been looking forward to meet the…" 

The elevator doors opened. Commander Ikari stood in front of the women, reading a file. Misato stiffened, and greeted the Commander. 

Ikari nodded in response. Misato and Karen boarded. Misato reached over to the controls and pressed the key for the level closest to her home. 

For a moment, it was silent, except for the clicking of the floor indicator. "How is your mother?" Gendo asked without looking up. 

Misato was surprised, but said nothing. Karen was looking straight ahead. "She's dead." 

More silence. "How is my brother?" Karen asked, barely above a whisper. 

"He is well, I understand." Gendo looked up as the lift slowed and stopped. He stepped forward, and left the elevator in silence. The doors swished shut, and the elevator continued along its way, it's occupants quietly reflecting on the last few moments. 

"I guess that you don't need to worry about details on my family any more," Karen said with a wistful smile on her face. 

"I guess not." Misato replied. 

* * * 

A week had passed since Misato told Ritsuko about the exchange, and the blonde scientist still couldn't believe that the newest edition to the EVA research team could be related to Gendo. Ritsiko hadn't mentioned it to him the few times that they had seen each other. 

Karen seemed to be doing well, she had a brilliant mind, and was able to bring some excellent ideas to the table. Using the research that Waverley had left, she had drafted plans to increase the effectiveness of the prog knife 23%. She was a machine, able to chew through complex problems the way only a young scientist could. 

Ritsiko took another bite of Misatos typically terrible instant food. The two women's schedules had some free time that overlapped, and they had spent the afternoon shopping , pretending that everything was normal. 

"How do you get this so inedible?" Ritsuko asked. She knew the answer, Misato was just that bad at cooking. If Misato was a man, she would be the world's most typical bachelor. 

"Hey, the kids eat this all the time, and their not dead yet, so a little won't kill you." Misato retorted. 

"Speaking of the kids…" Ritsuko started to ask, but thought better of it. 

"No. I haven't told him." Misato said, shooting a glance at her friend. 

"I guess it is the kind of thing that Gendo needs to tell him." 

"Tell who what?" Auska asked walking though the kitchen. As she rummaged through the refrigerator, the two women looked at each other. 

"Auska, we're going to have someone over for dinner tomorrow, so I want you to help clean this place up tonight." Misato said, taking a sip from her beer. 

"What? Not fair! Make Shinji do it!" Auska said stomping out of the kitchen, into her room. 

"Why is Auska angry?" Shinji asked in his quiet way, as he took his turn to look for an after school snack. 

"We're having one of the new scientists over for dinner tomorrow night, and I want you and Auska to clean up around here tonight." Misato replied. Shinji found some apples and went to the faucet to wash one. 

Ritsuko was always amazed at how alike Gendo and his son were. She knew that they were never close, but even then, the way they did simple things was much the same. From the right angle, she could almost see Gendo in the boy. 

Shinji walked to the fridge, got out a beer, and walked over to the table. Agaki lifted an eyebrow, wondering if the boy drank like his guardian, until he set it before Misato as he sat. Misato grunted and opened the beer, taking a sip. 

"I heard that that there were going to be improvements made to the prog knives." Shinji let the statement hang in the air as a question. 

Agaki answered, "Yes, Dr. Ik.. Dr. Rayne has just joined us from the US, and has made many advances in the last week." 

"An American?" Shinji paused at that thought. He shrugged and ate his apple. "What did you say his name was?" 

"Her" Misato corrected "Dr. Karen Rayne, though her father was Japanese." Ritsuko shot her a dirty look, hoping to silence her violet haired friend. 

"Shinji-baka!! Come over here and clean up!" Auska yelled from the living room, at which Shinji started to blush. Silently the boy stood, and walked into the living room, under a pelting of curses from his fiery room mate. 

* * * 

Karen Ikari-Rayne was amazed. 

She had been working on aspects of the EVA project for years now, helping her mother in the lab as a child, then with the prog knife research, and now at NERV HQ, though she had never had the security clearance to look at the Eva up close. 

She stood in front of Unit 01 amazed. It was simply the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Not a physical beauty, though it possessed that as well, it was the culmination of so much work, it had to be beautiful. So much rested on it, so much rested on the pilot. 

Shinji… Karen sighed. She had to join Misato for dinner that evening, which mean meeting the Third Child. She hadn't thought about him in so long, but then, she never had reason to until lately. 

Noting the time, Karen decided to go back to her quarters. She was given her permanent assignment a few days before, in a rather drab area of Toyko-3. Her things were still in transit from the research lab in Utah, so she was still living out of her suitcase. 

Karen walked up to the foot of the Eva, and looked up as it towered above her. She reached forward and touched the hard dark armor that covered the foot. It was warm, almost like flesh, but hard. Father, what have you made here… 

Karen turned and left the dock and walked to the lift. She keyed the lift to the level her home, how strange that word still sounded to her, and was off. 

The name plate hadn't been installed, so there was a paper sign on her door that announced her name, Ikari-Rayne Karen. She would have to have them change their records to reflect the fact that she never used her father's surname. Karen walked through the door to her barren room. I really need to paint this place, it looks so sad. 

Karen jumped into the shower and turned the water as hot as she could get it. As she bathed, she thought about the last week. She had yet to see her father again, though she knew that it would happen eventually. Until then.. She did like her co-workers, they were all so nice, but, something… I wonder if the know? 

I miss Utah. No one cared about my father there. Few people spoke about mother. No one knew about my brother. I can't go back though. 

The incident…. Karen touched the scars on her arm, the ones that had almost cost her life. . . Even with the best plastic surgery that money could have bought, the were still there, so white against her skin. Oh, god, why do I think about this… 

Karen grabbed the shampoo and began to wash her hair. She hurried through the rest of her shower, and into some clean clothes, such as they were. She had brought one pair of jeans, which she toped with a green knit top. She toweled off her head quickly to get out the last bits of water as she looked at the clock. She was early, so she decided to walk the few blocks between her home and Misato's. 

She locked her door and left her building. It was a warm night, and there was a slight breeze. The weather rememinded her of her youth in California, it was so beautiful. The only thing missing was the sounds of the crickets chirping. Of course, most of the insects had died during the Second Impact, and her childhood home didn't exist anymore. 

Karen saw the Misatos building ahead, and was impressed with its size, a large white building high above the rest. I wonder why I was put in that old building when there are ones like this out there, Karen wonderd. She was still going to be early, so she decided to stop by a small shop and bought some flowers. Her mother had told her once that the polite guest always brings a small gift for the hostess, and Karen had no desire to be a rude guest. 

Karen rode the lift to Misato' floor and checked the numbers to be sure she was walking the right way. As she got closer, she heard a rising din, consisting of yelling and swearing, punctuated by the occasional crash. She saw the name plate with the Majors name on it, and the source of the racket. She pressed the small key next to the door to announce her presence, but there was no answer, only more racket. 

After a few more tries at the bell, Karen stepped forward and opened the door. "Hello?" she called into the noise. On the floor in front of her was a large penguin being chased by a girl with flame red hair, who was being held back by a boy of about the same age. Misato was nowhere to be seen. 

"Auska!" the boy yelled, "you can't kill Pen Pen!" 

"I can and I will! Baka penguin!!" the girl, presumably Auska, cried wrestling out of the boys grasp 

"Am I in the wrong place?" Karen asked, stepping into the middle of the fray. The children stopped their yelling, and the penguin ran off in a dignified huff. 

"Who are you?" demanded Auska, brushing invisible dust from her yellow sun dress. She did have a stain on the hem, about the size of a golf ball. 

"My name is Karen," Rayne said stepping forward, extending the flowers. "I take it you must be Auska." 

The young boy took the flowers from her hand, and he was a sight. He seemed to be covered head to toe in liquid, possibly some kind of juice. Is this my brother, Karen asked herself. "Thank you," he said. "My name is.." 

"Shinji! Auska!!" a voice came from the door. "What is going on in here?" 

Misato stood in the open door, holding grocery bags and lifting a pair of sunglasses from her eyes to better see what was going on. 

"It's all Shinji's fault!" Auska cried. 

"My fault? You were the one who knocked over Pen Pens food" Shinji turned to yell at Auska, throwing down the flowers. 

"Look what he did to my lovely dress!" Auska pointed at the spot, ignoring her drenched companion. "I didn't bring this all the way from Germany so that this Baka could ruin it!!" 

Misato walked into the apartment and set down the bags on the table. "You two go clean up. We're running behind as it is, and we have a guest!!" 

"But. . ." 

"Go!" Misato pointed at their respective rooms. Sheepishly, the pair turned and walked off, but not without Auska sticking her tongue out a Shinji. Karen smiled. "I'm so sorry," Misato said, as she grabbed a beer from the fridge. "I got held up at work, and those two can be monsters when they're together for too long." She took a sip of the beer and let out a whoop. "Oh, that hit the spot." 

"I don't mind," Karen said, bending to grab the abused bouquet she had brought. "I did bring some flowers, but I think they've seen better days." The two women looked at the flowers and smiled, then laughed. 

It took a few minutes, but Shinji and Auska cleaned up, yelling at each other the entire time. Misato seemed exasperated, though with the more beer she drank, the less it seemed to bother her. Karen stood back and watched most of the commotion, wondering if they knew how much they looked like a family. 

The three members of this unlikely family began to take their usual places, Misato with her beer at the table, Auska complaining and setting the table, Shinji working silently to prepare the dinner. Karen sat at the table with Misato, listening to the older woman with one ear, and keeping an eye on Shinji. 

He does look so much like father, Karen thought to herself. She could remember growing up, the look on her mothers face when she realized how much her daughter took after her father in looks. Sara had been so fair and light complected, where Karen had dark hair and the deep olive complection of her father. Based on the way the children acted, she guessed that they didn't know the truth, which was probably best for now. 

It took only a few moments for dinner to be ready, seeing as how Misato only ever bought instant food, and soon they were collected around the table. She could feel the eyes of the children and Misato on her as she reached for chop sticks instead of a fork. She hoped that she surprised them with her skill; in Utah, everyone had taken it for granted that the Asian girl could speak Japanese and eat with chopsticks, here she wasn't the Asian girl anymore, she was the American, and everything she did was a surprise. 

One thing that did surprise was the fact that Karen could go beer for beer with Misato and keep up rather well. The conversation was a little lopsided, Auska telling stories about how wonderful Germany was, and how little Japan did for her, and how she liked being the best of the Eva pilots. 

"Tell me about your work," Karen asked by beer number four. "Why do you are a pilot?" 

Auska gave the older girl a look, and answered simply "I am the best, that is why I pilot." She then launched into a long story about how she was chosen to pilot at such a young age, which made piloting much easier for her, and more natural that it could ever be for Shinji.. . . 

"I was under the impression that Rei was chosen to pilot much younger," Karen interrupted. 

"Rei has not artistry for it. She treats it like a chore. Besides, her Eva isn't the piece of German mastery that mine is," Auska returned defiantly. 

Dinner finished quickly after that, Auska silent through the remainder of the meal. Misato and Karen retired to the living room with fresh beers and began to talk shop. Misato was curious as to when the improvements to the prig knives would be done, in case an Angel attack happened before they were finished. 

Auska stayed behind with Shinji when Karen and Misato left the room. She pulled the boy into the kitchen. "Ow, Auska that hurts!" Shinji cried as she twisted the flesh of his arm to get his attention. 

"What do you know about that woman?" Auska hissed. 

"As much as you do," Shinji replied rubbing the abused arm to rid the pain. "Why do you care" 

"There is something about her… Didn't you notice the way she was looking at you?" 

"You're only mad because she didn't believe how wonderful you are." 

"Baka!" Auska whispered at him, looking over her shoulder to see Misato and Karen laughing on the couch. "You don't know anything do you?" 

"Auska?" Misato called. "Can you bring us some more beer?" 

"Yes!" Auska turned to Shinji again, "You just keep an eye out until we find out more." 

Auska went to the fridge and grabbed two beers. Misato's drinking had never bothered her as much as it did Shinji, but Misato did have terrible taste in beer. German beer was so much better… 

As she handed the beers out, she noticed a deep scar on Karen's left arm. "What is that from?" she asked as the brunette took the drink. 

Karen ran her fingers over the marks, suddenly lost in deep thought. "A terrible time." She smiled, and opened the beer. She took a long swallow, and looked at Auska, "Some people carry their scars on the inside, I have mine here." She smiled at the redhead, enjoying the look of puzzlement that they girl gave her. 

Auska could tell that the woman was not going to answer further, so she let it drop. She announced that she was going to do home work, at which Misato gave her a dirty look, but said nothing. Auska took off to her room, giving Shinji a look as she passed the kitchen. 

Shinji caught the look as she passed. He could never understand that girl. One moment she was a complete braggart, the next she was convinced the walls had ears. As he washed the few dishes he thought about the words that Auska had told her. 

It seemed like the nature of NERV that nothing was ever as it seemed, so why would this new scientist be any different. She sure could drink a lot though… She didn't seem that bad though, and he wondered if she would be around again. Toni and Kensuke would love to meet her. He smiled thinking of his friends, and how odd it was to have friends his own age. How normal life almost seemed, even though everything wasn't. 

The women in the living room were laughing again. The small kitchen was quite close to the room, so it took a small effort to not listen in to the conversation that they were having. They had moved on from talking about work to complaining about men, which was something that they both seemed to enjoy doing. 

"I have known so few men worth heartache," Karen was saying, as she took a sip from her beer. 

Misato laughed, "Who's worried about heartache? It's body ache I worry about!" Both laughed at that. After that the conversation turned quieter, and Shinji was left alone with his thoughts. He began to wonder what Rei was doing that night, what she did on any night, her apartment was so bear, what could she do for fun? She had no friends that he knew of, and never read anything. Some days he almost felt sorry for her. 

"Shinji, can you bring us some more beers?" Misato called. 

"No, it's getting late, and I have to be at the lab early in the morning," Karen protested as Shinji walked into the room with the fresh beers. Karen stood, and tripped over Pen Pen, almost falling over. 

"Do you want some help getting home?" Misato asked, taking the beer from Shinji. "Shinji, be a man and help your… Your guest get home safely." 

"No, that's alright," Karen took another step and had to put her arms out to steady herself. "Oh.. my head… Maybe some help would be a good thing." 

* * * 

Auska hadn't touched her laptop since she had left Germany. When she left it had been top of the line, and was still an excellent model. She hadn't needed to synch it with the EVA project here in Japan, so it still accessed the net through the German branch of EVA, which was just what she needed. Here, she doubted that she could get through the security, but in Germany she had all the clearance she needed. Here she was a mere pilot, in Germany, she was the star of the program. 

"What was her name again?" Auska asked herself, twirling a bit of her long red hair in her fingers. "Rain? No, nothing under that name… Let's try looking under the name Karen. There can't be that many… 2173!?!" Grumbling to herself, Auska began to look through the files, whittling down the possibilities, knowing that it would take a long time. 

* * * 

Shinji walked next to the rather drunken scientist, as they walked to her home. They had spoken little, other than for Karen to tell him which building she lived in. 

"You don't live too far from Rei," he mentioned. Karen had not responded, other to grunt and start walking. 

And so they had continued. The sun had set long before, though a warm breeze still blew. It was a lovely night. 

"You've never seen snow have you?" Karen asked out of the dark. 

"When I was much younger, we took a trip to the mountains, and there was a little snow there." Shinji answered. 

"No, I mean have you ever seen snow? Where everywhere you look all you see is white and the cold bites at your skin and it's still and quiet," Karen said, not so much to Shinji as she did for herself. "When I was young, before the second impact, my father took me along on a business trip, and I got to see snow, so much snow. I thought that the world had ended and all there was left was snow." Karen looked at the sky. "I can't stand how there isn't any changes in the weather any more." 

"There are slight changes, not so big, but we get them," Shinji added. 

"But no snow like I saw then," Karen told the boy. "Snow always reminds me of my father. He was a cold person." 

"There are a lot of people who say that about my father," Shinji said. Why am I telling this to her I wonder? 

Karen looked at the boy, who was trying hard not to look at her. "What do you think of your father?" 

"He is an important man, and gets too busy to take care of me." Shinji said. It wasn't what he felt, but it was true that his father was busy. 

For a moment the two walked in silence. Rayne's home was getting close, maybe another five minutes walk. Why did I bring this up now, Karen asked herself. Something inside her told her it was because she was drunk, but something else said she was drunk because she did want to talk about it. Something about Shinji made you want to reach out to him.. but was it her place, after so long? 

"I hate my father," She announced, a little louder than she intended. "I hate him so much," quieter this time. Shinji looked at her, surprised by the emotion behind the statement. "He hurt my mother and then he left for another woman, another family. It was like he was dead, and then my mother died, and he never called for me. He never needed me." Karen fought to hold back tears, and vowed to herself not to drink so much. 

Karen fumbled in her purse for her key card to get past the main doors. It took a moment for the old computers to recognize her key and unlock the doors. Quietly they walked up to the second floor, and down the hall to her apartment. 

"Thank you for walking me home Shinji-kun. Tell Misato thank you for dinner, and good night to Auska," Karen said as she opened the door into her bare room. Shinji said his good byes and let the door close. 

Shinji stood for a moment thinking about this new addition to the EVA team. It seemed that they had something in common, a distant father, a dead mother. Even though it seemed morbid, Shinji felt almost glad knowing that he wasn't alone. 

Shinji turned to leave, and noticed the temporary sign on Rayne's door had fallen. He bent down and picked up the piece of paper. He flattened out a corner that had been bent over, and began to hang the sign on the door, when he saw it. The name on the paper… 

* * * 

"Ikari-Rayne Karen" Auska hissed as she found the right file. It was at least 13 years old, but the face on the file was still recognizable. It was the same woman that was at their home eating dinner. 

It wasn't a staff form though, it was a background folder, attached to an incident report. Auska began to download the file, it was large, and coming all the way from Germany. 

She read through the synopsis as the complete file downloaded. "EVA Project, early in 2003... Sara Rayne…. Synch tests…." Auska noticed a small red light flashing in the corner of her screen. "Am I being traced?" Auska checked her connection, and indeed she was. "Schnitzel," she whispered as she shut down the connection and launched a program to ghost her presence. "How could that happen? This file is so old, who would care about it anymore?" 

* * * 

Thus ends the first installment of this story. Isn't Gendo such fun to make really evil sounding? I think that this will be a three parter, so when I get to it, we will have Part Two: Reacting, with some stuff about Rei, and Gendo, and Yui, and yelling, and what happens when angry people get together and hurt each other. Until then, please let me know what you like and dislike about this first part. Thanks! 


	2. Reacting

Chapter 2: Reacting Chapter 2: Reacting   


Shinji looked at the paper in his hands. The words were clear, in English and hangara, the room in front of him belonged to Ikari-Rayne Karen. 

What does this mean, he asked himself. Ikari isn't the most common last name in Japan, and certainly not in the US. Why didn't she introduce herself with her full name though, what did it all mean? 

Shinji carefully folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He looked back at the door, then at the floor. Quietly, Shinji turned and walked away from the home of the new mystery woman. He tiptoed down the stairs and shut the door behind him. The night was still warm. A breeze picked up, ruffling his hair. Shinji turned in the direction of home, and ran. 

* * * 

Auska sat in her room with the lights off. Even thought the night was warm, she felt cold in her t-shirt pajamas. She had thought about extracting what little she had gotten of the file and reading through it, but decided to wait. What she had read scared her, and the trace had unnerved her. 

Misato was passed out on the couch, and Shinji was still out with that woman. Auska didn't know what to say or do, which was rare for her. What did this mean? 

Shinji was an idiot sometimes, but there was something almost sinister about this. An American with Shinji's family name, one who was half Japanese, who was only 20, who suddenly ends up on the EVA project, one with a history in the project. Nothing like this could be coincidence. 

She heard a noise in the living room, one that wasn't the drunken stumbling of Misato. Auska crept to the door, and slid it aside to look out. Shinji was creeping through the room, trying not to trip over beer cans. Auska hissed, "Shinji!" Shinji looked up, and almost tripped over a can. For a close moment, it seemed that he would fall, but he regained his balance. "Shinji-baka!" 

Shinji crept to Auskas room. "What?" he whispered. Auska stepped aside and dragged the boy into her room. "Guess what I found out!" 

"Is it about her?" Shinji asked pulling the paper out of his pocket and showing it to Auska. In the moonlight she made out the letters, "Ikari-Rayne Karen," she whispered. 

"Look, there's something we need to find out about her. I don't know what it is, but we need to know." Auska leaned closer to Shinji, holding the piece of paper in the air, "This has to mean something." 

* * * 

Kaji was asleep when the call came. 

He was tired, and almost didn't answer the phone, but something told him to get this one. Still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, he answered. "Yes?" 

"There has been an incident," and with those words, Kaji was instantly awake. 

Someone had been accessing the Yesod data. Seele was sure that the person was somewhere in Japan, and they wanted something done. 

"Kaji, if you find the source, you know what must be done," the voice on the other end of the line told him. 

"Yes." 

Kaji stood, running a hand through his unkempt hair and looked out his window over the sleeping Tyoko-3. Somewhere out there, someone knew something. Who, and how much he did not know, but when it came to Yesod, it didn't matter. 

Kaji didn't sleep the rest of the night. 

* * * 

Ritsuko woke up with cold on her flesh. Somehow the blankets had been shifted exposing her pale skin to the cool air inside the bedroom. A voice in the hall made her come fully into consciousness. 

She sat up, pulling the covers close to her, looking out the door. He was on the phone, looking serious. Then, he always looked serious. 

"I see." He had already dressed. "Fix this," he commanded the voice on the other end of the line. 

Ritsuko resisted the urge to ask what the problem was, he wouldn't answer anyhow. Instead, she got out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her body. As he set the phone back in his cradle, she touched him on his shoulder. 

"Do you have to leave?" 

He stiffened at her touch. Without turning, he replied. "Yes." Ritsuko rested her head on his shoulder. She had known he wouldn't, he never did, never until morning. 

He turned, for only a moment, and looked at Ritsuko. She could never tell what was going on in his eyes, hidden behind his glasses. Without saying anything, he turned and walked down the hall. Ritsuko stood and heard his footsteps as they walked through her kitchen and out the door, and finally the front door closing. 

Ritsuko returned to bed, and curled up in her covers. She looked out the window at the night. The moon hung over Tyoko-3. She knew that at any moment, and Angel could come and destroy all that was spread out before her. For a moment, alone in her bed, where she could still feel his warmth, she didn't care. 

* * * 

Rei was also looking at the night. Something had made her to go up to the roof and look at the moon. When she had left her Spartan quarters to go to the roof, the night was warm, but as time went on her school uniform wasn't enough for warmth. She sat behind some ventilation pipes with her knees curled to her chest looking out over Tyoko-3. 

Rei didn't know what to think of the city she called home. She couldn't remember a life before it. All she knew is that the people out there, sleeping in the dark depended on three teenagers to protect them. Did they know what their safety cost? 

She didn't know how long she was out there before the door to the roof opened. Rei looked over to see who would be on the roof at that hour, and saw a dark haired young woman walk out on the roof. She wore a bulky sweater. The woman walked over to the edge of the roof, and looked down the side of the building, the out over the city. 

"So this is my fathers home," she whispered to herself. Rei decided that the woman couldn't see her, and resumed her ponderings, though keeping an eye on the woman. 

The two shared the roof, not acknowledging the other's presence for some time. The wind picked up, getting colder all the while. 

"Do you plan on being so quiet all night?" The sweater woman asked the moon, startling Rei. When she received no answer, the woman turned to Rei, "Well?" 

Rei didn't know what to answer, so she simply stood. 

"I'm glad to see I wasn't seeing things in the moonlight," Sweater woman asked turning back to the moon. "You must be Rei." 

"Yes," Rei answered, stepping closer. 

"I've heard you were the quiet one," the woman smiled. "My name is Karen Rayne, I just moved into the building." Karen waited for a response from the quiet girl, and receiving none, continued. "I've just started working for NERV. Shinji told me that you lived in this building." 

Rei moved a few steps closer, and could smell beer on the woman. 

"I have to be up early in the morning, but I couldn't resist this moon," Karen gestured to the sky. "It's a beautiful city you have. I hope to help keep it that way. There are too many things beautiful that have been destroyed lately. Ha!" she laughed, "I can't even talk right anymore." 

Rei felt another gust of wind sweep across the roof, and began to shiver. She turned and walked to the door to the stairs. Karen was still standing at the edge of the roof. "I hope that you like your fathers city," Rei told the woman before she walked down the stairs. 

She walked the halls to her apartment. She entered the room, shed her school uniform and crawled into bed. Rei felt sleep call to her, and gave in willingly. 

* * * 

Misato woke up to everyone else's bad day. She had a lot of fun the night before, talking with the newest addition to the NERV team, but it seemed that everyone else she knew had had a bad night. 

At breakfast, Shinji seemed preoccupied, and Auska seemed nervous. Since today was a synch test day, the three of them drove into NERV together. All of Misatos attempts to start a conversation were met with silence or flat answers. 

At NERV, Ritsuko was quiet and almost moody. Even unshakeable Rei seemed to be bothered. No one preformed well in the tests, each of the pilots seemed too preoccupied to concentrate on the tests. 

Misato was dismayed. What was going on, she demanded of Ritsuko. "I had a long night," was all the blonde would answer. By noon Misato was in a bad mood herself, when she heard her name over the intercom. "Katsuragi Misato, please report to Commander Ikari's office. Katsuragi Misato, to the Commanders office." 

With a groan she stood up from her reports and straightened her clothes. Something was up and she wasn't sure what. 

After a few moments she found herself in front of the Commanders office. The receptionist told her that the commander was still in a meeting, and that she should wait a moment. Misato took the time to wonder what the Commander could want with her. She didn't think it was about the day's tests, though she didn't know what else it could… "Oh no," she groaned. It couldn't be about Karen could it? 

At this thought, the doors to the commander's office swung open. Misato was surprised to see Kaji leave the room. He looked intent, and failed to notice that she was standing right in front of him until he ran into her. 

"I'm sorry… Oh, Misato," he said plainly. "Hello." 

"Major, the Commander can see you now," the receptionist called out. Misato wanted to ask Kaji what he had been there for, but knew she couldn't keep the Commander waiting. 

She entered the office and stood at attention. "You asked for me sir?" 

Ikari Gendo sat behind a desk filled with papers, most marked with the bright red top-secret stamp. He looked over the rims of his glasses at her. "I have been told that Karen Rayne joined you for dinner last night." 

Misato had no idea what she was walking into. She swallowed and answered yes. 

"I also understand that you conducted her background check." Misato answered yes again. "Did you find anything in her background that would preclude her involvement at NERV?" 

Misato thought back to the background check that she had preformed. It had been fairly straight forward after dealing with the American bureaucracy. Rayne had lived a fairly normal life for a girl who had grown up post impact, and the security report that she had submitted had reflected that. "No sir, I found nothing suspicious in her background." 

"And you have no reason do doubt your conclusions?" 

Misato thought back. "No sir, everything checked out." 

"You didn't over look any details due to her familial connections?" 

He won't even call her his daughter. "No sir." 

"Very well. Thank you Major." 

Misato snapped to attention and walked out of the room. What did all that mean? Did I over look something? 

Gendo sighed, and leaned back in his chair. Misato knew nothing. The security problem was not there. He picked up the handset of the phone and dialed. "The breach is external," he reported when the call was answered. "They know nothing of Yesod, I see no reason to terminate the subject." 

* * * 

The next week seemed almost normal. Shinji and Auska went to school and back, and argued as always, though not as often. Misato worked hard, and drank harder. The progress on the prog knife upgrades was ahead of schedule, which made everyone happy, until Israfel came. 

In the week that the new knives were being built, there was an Angel attack. Israfel advanced on the city, and when Auska attacked with her prog knife, the Angel split in two pieces. During a dormant cycle, Shinji and Auska trained together to perform a synchronized attack designed to destroy the Angel. 

During that dormant cycle, as the two Eva pilots trained, Karen worked non-stop, doubling the efforts of the prog knife upgrades. 

Ritsuko came to the lab to check on her progress occasionally during the training, and watched as Rayne began to deteriorate. The younger woman was out performing the other scientists in her project, but the work had taken its toll. Her already thin frame had grown thinner, and dark circles had formed under her eyes. At one point, Agaki had brought some lunch for Karen, but the woman had waved it off in favor of reading through data on delta wave feed back. 

Israfel could not wait forever. Auska and Shinji suited up and attacked without the benefit of the upgraded Prog knives. The attack a success, Ritsuko insisted that Karen leave the lab and take care of herself. "Go. Let our people do their work," Ritsuko told her as she shooed the younger woman out of the lab. 

Karen didn't fight too much. She rode up the elevator to ground level, the walked home. As always, the weather was warm, and the sun shone brightly. Clean up crews were still working on repairing the damage that the Angel and the Eva's caused, so the sound of birds was replaced with the sound of heavy machinery. 

Karen walked up the stairs to the second floor and into her apartment. While she was at the lab, her things had arrived from Utah, so her small quarters were filled with boxes. Rayne prepared some ramen in the microwave, ate quickly then went about unpacking. 

The majority of the boxes were filled with books, ones that she had gathered over the years, and ones that her mother had left to her. Outside of her books and clothes, Karen had few keepsakes. There were a few pieces of art that she liked, the collection of horror movies, her professional grade cook wear. There was a photo album, the one with the photos post-impact. Everything before the impact was destroyed during the flooding. 

Karen put the photo album aside to look at after she finished unpacking, which wouldn't take long. After some hours, she sat with a mug of hot chocolate on her bed and opened the scrapbook. Because of the time she had spent in the hospital, there were no pictures of her until her 6th birthday. Her arm still bandaged, her face shone in the light of candles. There were pictures of her and her mother, Sara looking younger than she was. The blonde woman held her dark haired daughter close in silent memories. Karen reached out and touched the picture, trying to remember her mother's smell. Mom had always smelled of lilac, she remembered. 

Karen flipped thought the last of the pages, watching herself get older as her mother grew more tired. Karen had always known that her mother's work was important and kept her out late, but looking back now, she could see the strain the woman had undergone. 

Sleep was calling. Karen finished the last of her coco, and put the album on her bedside table. Karen got up, and rummaged though some boxes until she produced a colorful quilt. Wrapping herself in it, Karen thought of her mother, and fell asleep. 

* * * 

"Shinji, you baka, why won't you believe what's in front of you?" Auska's voice echoed through his mind. It was late Shinji lay on his bed, listening to his SDAT, staring at the paper he found in front of Dr. Rayne's apartment. 

Auska insisted that it proved something. Shinji had looked at her then, and told her that it meant nothing. That Rayne was nothing to him, that she couldn't be. Auska had called him a fool again, and told him she didn't know why she bothered with him at all, and more things that Shinji chose not to remember. 

She hadn't said anything about it since that night, but every time she looked at him, Shinji could tell that she was thinking it. 

He traced over the letters again, making out the letters that spelled the family name they shared. He thought about the last week. With the Angel attack, everyone had been so busy that he hadn't seen Rayne for more than a few moments at a time, and even then it was when there were dozens of others around. Did she look at him differently than others? 

"Father," he whispered at the ceiling. "Father, what is this?" 

* * * 

Auska sat in the darkness of her room. She had finally gotten over her fear of the data she had downloaded, and had begun to decrypt it. The screen of her laptop shone light against her face as she watched the lines of data steam across the display. Auska cursed her luck. It was a partial download, and it was well encrypted. 

In the last few weeks, she had seen little of Rayne, but still did not trust the woman. Auska had no idea why Shinji refused to believe the obvious, but more than that, she needed to know why this woman bothered her so. Auska could admit, even to herself, that it wasn't about her ego, it was deeper than that. 

Slowly the file began to divulge its secrets. It was an incident report, 13 years old. It was about an early version of the entry plugs interface system, there was an error. A woman named Sara Rayne (Karen's mother, Auska wondered) was involved, but the documents about the nature of the error, what happened to Sara Rayne were missing. 

Auska sat back, looking at the screen, at the bits of evidence that sat in front of her. There was so much else that she needed to know. She needed Karen's background checks, her files. Perhaps a little about the history of the Eva Project as well. Twisting a bit of hair in her fingers, she realized that this was almost too easy. Data this sensitive shouldn't have been able to be accessed this easily. 

"Did they want someone to find this?" Auska slammed the laptop shut, and looked around her room as if NERV security would burst in at any moment. She let her hair drop, and slid the laptop under her bed. She crawled under the covers, and pulled the blankets up to her nose. "I can't be scared. I have nothing to be scared of at all." 

"Shinji-baka, this is all your fault." 

* * * 

Misato sat in darkness. Apparently NERV didn't feel that people spying on their computer systems needed light in the middle of the night, she thought to herself with a smile. 

Her terminal was the only light in the dark caverns of NERVs central database. Here, all the data about the EVA project, it's personal, their families, and all the intelligence reports since the second impact were stored. There was immense amounts of information, and to the untrained, it was hopeless to try. Misato, however, was. She knew that once she connected to the mainframe, she would have 20 minutes until they noticed her, after that, she would have only a minute until they came to look. She looked at her watch and dove in. 

Gendo's comments had triggered a thought. It was too easy to find information on Karen Ikari-Rayne. The American government never gave out data that easily. Something had to be wrong. 

Misato had decided to work from the present and work backwards. Starting with the background report she had initially filed, she tracked the members of Karen's family and career back to the beginning. She decided to skip Shinji; the two had nothing to do with one another, and Misato knew Shinji well enough as it was. Gendo was also a know factor, more or less. Misato didn't want to chance breaking into his files as it was. Katsuragi started with Sara Rayne, Karen's mother. 

In the initial background report, Sara had shown up as a researcher working under Dr. Waverly in Utah. It seemed that her primary job was developing the neural links between the pilot and the Eva. Sara had died in an accident during an early test of the link systems. It seemed that there was some problem with a computer link that electrocuted Rayne who was trapped inside. 

Everything that Misato could find supported the accident at work claim. She decided to move on. She chose to look into Waverly next. 

Dr. John Thomas Waverly had had a lackluster career until shortly after the second impact when he had met Sara Rayne. Misato found that Waverly had worked for Seele since that time. After Rayne's death, he was the executor of the estate, since Karen was only 8 at the time. He sold off most of the household goods, and sent the young girl to live at a boarding school. During Karen's third year of college, he had requested her transfer to his projects. This had rushed her graduation from the University at Utah. Based on the reports logged about the man, he seemed to be completely devoted to his work, there was no mention of any outside work or family. 

Misato frowned at this information, Waverly had rubbed her the wrong way when they first met, and she was not inclined to believe anything about the man. 

Misato continued to trace back the girl's files, but found that all information on Karen Ikari-Rayne stopped when she reached the Second Impact. Misato couldn't even find an original birth certificate, the one in her file was a replacement issued by a courthouse in Utah. 

Katsuragi looked at her watch. Her time was almost up. Why was there no more information about the girl? It was common for people to be missing large amounts of information from before the Impact, but no one had lost all of their documents. There had to be more to this. 

* * *   
[][1]   
[][1]

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/ego/trina/03_truth.html



End file.
